Far Away Dreams
by Diarydream
Summary: Ishiguro Akemi had lost everything in life and made her way to Konoha, hoping to start over and become happy in the village her father had treasured so, but unfortunately life is unfair and the village she once dreamt of had now become her nightmare. There was only one thing keeping her there and she wasn't about to let anything destroy that. (may become M)
1. Death's door

The story I'm about to tell you is the story of a woman many people in my world know. It is the story of a woman who was very much hated, yet also loved. She was honored and yet slowly forgotten.

My name is Hiroyuki and I'm going to tell you the story of _Ishiguro Akemi_.

* * *

Fire. Everything was burning. Dead bodies of animals were lain everywhere and wooden houses were crumbling under the heat of the blazing substance called lava. The gate was closed with a spell, making sure no one could escape. Just in front of that very same gate was the body of a, as far as one could guess, eleven years old boy. His head was gone, severed from the rest of his limbs. His milky white skin was stained with crimson and his once pure white clothing now nearly black from the dirt. A large black wolf lay next to him, barely breathing and with blood pouring onto the ground. He could barely open his eyes, but that didn't keep him from taking a look at his old master's body. He wanted nothing more than find his masters' head, but he couldn't. He was just too weak. He couldn't think clear any longer.

Another scream filled the air, this one not the same as the others. It was much higher, not like the scream of one facing death but like the one seeing it. _'Mistress...'_ The wolf thought as a tear fell from his left eye. A thousand thoughts went through his head making him ever dizzier then before. His breathing slowed down even more. The wolf was ready to give up. He was ready to stop fighting, but something told him to stay alive. Something told him to keep breathing, to keep fighting. And his fighting was worth it.

After a few minutes a girl came limping towards him. His sight was blurry, but he could make out the small form of his princess. He could still see her bright red hair, that beautiful hair she and the rest of the clan were so very proud of. She was drenched with blood and clutching her left arm which had blood running down it, dripping off her hand but she still looked beautiful. She was desperately trying to catch her breath. _'Akemi-sama...'_ the wolf thought, for he could not speak. He was simply too tired.

The girl fell to her knees next to him. His eyes were threatening to close, but he dug his sharp claws into his leg harshly to make sure he wouldn't fall asleep. "Hold on, Yoru." The girl said with a voice so gentle it could calm down a dragon, yet the voice was strained this time. The wolf nodded his head and sighed. He was going to be okay now. Everything would be fine.

The girl concentrated and started glowing, a beautiful pure white colour surrounding her hands. She hovered her hands above the wolf's wounds and opened her mouth. A soft and beautiful melody left it. Words in foreign language filled the air, words only native Ishiguro could hope to understand and even most of them couldn't even hope to master. It was the language of the Ishiguro royals. The language this one princess excelled in. Slowly but steadily the gentle white light entered the black wolfs' body and his wound started closing. The young girl took a deep breath as the white energy began fading, her heart beating fast, almost too fast.

Slowly she started leaning on her hands. Her entire body was covered with cuts, bruises and blood. Tears were falling from her face and she was clenching her teeth. She dug her hands into the ground, sand filling her fists with earth and other things covering it. She was reaching the limit. Her heart was over-flowing, threatening to burst.

She screamed.

The scream was filled with emotions and it was heart-breaking. The pain and sadness in that scream was overwhelming and it saddened the wolf even more than before. Never before had he heard such a scream and his heart broke. That's when he knew. They were alone. The only ones left.

"Akemi-sama..." The wolf began, slowly standing up. He wobbled for a bit, finding it hard to stand steadily but after a while finding his footing. "Akemi-sama, we have to go. We have to leave." he told the five years old girl whose face was covered by her hair. He couldn't see it, but he was sure her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were closed tightly. If he, a twenty-two year old wolf, was almost unable to bear the pain how would a small five years old be able? She was shaking, her tears dripping on the blood-stained ground. She couldn't believe it. Just yesterday everything was fine. Her mother was cooking dinner happily, her father was coming home from work with a smile on his face and her brothers were playing tag with her. How could things have gone so very wrong?

She knew the wolf was right, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Her legs refused. This was simply too much for a five years old to take. She was lost. She felt alone and she was in pain. Her heart gave up and everything went black.

The wolf cursed under his breath and walked towards her, occasionally limping. He took her on his back. It was then and there that the black wolf decided. With the heavy weight of the little girl on his back he slowly made his way to the huge gate. The caster of the spell was now gone, making it possible for them to leave this place. The wolf put the girl on the ground outside of the gate and then trudged back inside. He gathered every single body, gathering them all at the main crosswalk and then he burned them. He burned the bodies of their loved ones, of their families. No one was spared.

Then he left. He turned his back towards the gate and picked up the girl once more. He muttered a final spell, one that would make it impossible for anyone but an Ishiguro to enter the village. And then he slowly walked away, taking one last look.

And what was the worst part? They couldn't blame anyone. No one. It was their own fault after all.


	2. Nostalgia

_ "I want to be strong like daddy and kind like mommy!" A gentle voice stated excitedly, filled with confidence. The voice belonged to a small red-headed child. She and her companions were standing in a field filled with flowers of all kinds, though lillies and tulips dominated all. Those bright colours made her beautiful red hair stand out even more. There were many speculations about the true colour of her hair because many had only heard of the bright-headed princess, but once you saw her you would not be able to debate about the crimson hair she wore with pride. She was smiling widely, her eyes closed as she was spinning in circles. This girl looked so very happy that one couldn't help but become happy themselves, her smile influencing their own. One couldn't help but love her. There were a few bruises on her arms but it did not affect her beauty nor her charm._

_A man stood in front of her, his arms around a woman's waist whose hair was a richer version of the girls' red and the woman was, much like her daughter, stunningly beautiful. Her white skin, pink lips and kind brown eyes were of a beauty no human being could ever hope to possess. The lighter red hair was framing her face as if she was a work of art, which she was for that matter. The woman held herself with elegance, but not overly so. _

_The man's long spiky black hair waved trough the wind, his mouth pulled up into a smirk. He looked young. His features were defined, his shoulders broad. He was every woman's dream with those amazing black eyes of his._

_"You'll have to beat us first, imouto." Two males appeared from the forest surrounding the clearing, each a slightly darker shade of red hair from the girl. They were twins, as was obvious, but you could easily see the difference between both. One had tied his long hair in a simple, messy ponytail whilst the other had his tied up with a crown which symbolised him being the crown-prince, the eldest, but neither of them could ever hope to challenge the beauty of the little girl, who by now was making her way towards them with a speed one was unable to see with the untrained eye. "Kazuki-niichan! Kenshin-niisama!" The girls' face lit up. She ran to them as fast as she could, jumping in their waiting arms._

_They laughed as they got knocked over, rolling a little bit further because of the impact the little girl caused. They held her tightly, almost as if she was made of delicate china."Honey... Be a little gentle with them, will you?" The oldest male present said as he was smirking still. His chin was positioned on top of the woman's._

_"But father!" The girl grinned and slightly whined as she stood up and made her merry way towards the man and the woman, skipping her way there. "It's not my fault that they're weak!" she said, with a mocking voice. Her father laughed as her two brothers started protesting loudly, both offended by the comment of the many years younger little girl. They were frowning, but amusement was visible in their eyes, they could take a joke._

_"Sweetie," The elegant woman started while releasing herself from the males' tight grasp. She walked towards the girl and crouched down next to her, stroking her cheek gently. "They're not ónly weak," The males started cheering thinking their mother was on their side, however, that happiness didn't continue for long. The woman winked at the little girl. "They're stupid too."_

_"Oi! Okaa-san!" The twins said while protesting loudly once again. The mother, father and daughter thrio started laughing loudly, the girl hugging her mother around her neck. Just being here together, surrounded by the beautiful flowers and animals, they couldn't be happier._

* * *

Akemi woke, gasping loudly while sitting up straight. Her breathing was heavy as she reached for her head in an effort to steady herself. _'A dream...'_ She thought to herself as she closed her eyes. Her breathing slowly became steadier as she started to calm down. She sighed as she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. The sun was already out and her eyes hurt a little from its brightness, but she couldn't look away. Akemi's heart felt heavy as she remembered her dream. _'Only four years have passed...'_

Akemi streched her limbs._ 'Everything was still peaceful back then...' _ She thought as she chuckled a little at the memory of her brothers falling down from her tackle-like hug. Her chuckle ceased and it turned into a small gentle smile.

She let out a deep breath as she stood up. Akemi dusted off her clothes as she picked up her backpack. She looked over to her left and found two other sleeping forms. "Yoru, Asa, get up. We're leaving." she said while gently nudging their sides. Neither of them made any sign of movement. A sigh escaped the girls' lips. She put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight from her left leg to her right. "Asa, if you don't get up now I'm going to burn your precious books. Yoru, you can be sure about losing that little diary of yours." Akemi said with a strong, confident voice. They knew not to mess with her when she just woke up after all.

Akemi threatening them is what woke them up, those books were their treasures after all. She never understood why though. They were just a bunch of perverted and over-valued porn books, but both of them seemed to love them unconditionally. The importance of Yoru's diary Akemi could understand. It was his everything. Asa's Ichi Ichi Paradise however...

They quickly jumped to their feet as the comment reached their ears. "Okay, we're up. Please don't burn my books." Asa pleaded with Akemi as he fell to his knees. She couldn't help but smirk. "They're that important, huh?" She said with her famous mocking voice.

The two glared at the girl in front of them. "Are you kidding me?!" Asa shouted, shaking his head wildly. Yoru did the same while walking towards her. "They are holy! Holy, I tell ya!" Akemi raised her eyebrow. Asa's grammar was never really impressive, but she got used to it. Yoru wisely kept quiet.

"I don't want to hear another word about this, understood?" Akemi said, turning and walking away from them. A soft grin appeared on her face. Fools. They whined but didn't protest; they knew better. They grabbed their backpacks in their mouths and started walking next to their charge.

Yoru, a pure black wolf, and Asa whose full name was Asami, a golden lion, were two of Akemi's protectors. They were bound to her by soul and have served her ever since her clan was annihilated. Akemi loved them like they were family, but they can be a total pain in the butt.

"So, where to, lady Akemi?" Yoru asked while picking Akemi up and putting her on his back. Both Yoru and Asa were huge. They were four times Akemi's size, but they could become smaller at will. They were a little smaller then her height at the moment, and they weren't even full grown yet. Akemi wondered how big they would be at full grown size.

Akemi was silent for a few seconds. "Konohagakure. We have something to attend to." She said eventually while putting her arms around Yoru's neck. Both Yoru and Asa knew of her father's fondness of the village that was hidden in the leaves. The way her father used to talk about it, it was like he was longing for it. As if it was home. Asa grinned. He couldn't wait, that was for sure. After years of wandering the nations the three were tired and desired a home. A place to stay, where they wouldn't be kicked out after a few days. They were craving for such a place. Perhaps Konoha was it.

In less than half a day they arrived at the gates of The village hidden in the Leaf. It would have taken three days by foot, but Asa and Yoru were quick, not many could even hope to match their speed. Akemi looked at the gates and smiled.

_'We're finally here, dad.'_ she said to herself while taking a deep breath. She willed herself to not be nervous, to be calm. "Asa, Yoru." She said. Akemi didn't need to tell them what she was going to do. They knew.

They took one last look at the red-head before nodding at each other. "Good luck, Akemi." they said but just as she was about to correct them for not using her title- simply as a joke of course, she hated her title, they laughed and disappeared. Akemi shook her head with a small smile. Idiots that they were, they were still family. She took a deep breath as she looked at the gate. Her feet moved and just like that she took the first step towards it. The first step towards her new home. Well, at least she hoped it would be.

* * *

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The new one will be up soon.**

**All the love, Sarah Anna Riling**


	3. Reminiscence

The more steps she took, the closer Akemi got. The gate became bigger, the two people at the gate became clearer and she became more nervous. She normally wasn't like that at all, but she figured it was the whole 'father's old village' thing. She took a deep breath and pulled her confidence back in. She was Akemi, she could do this. Though deep inside of her there was a little voice that couldn't help but haunt her. _"Everyone will die."_ and _"It's all your fault."_ It says as it makes sure she is miserable. Akemi ignored it, though not without difficulty.

The closer she came, the bigger the two figures sitting near the gate became. She bit my lip and sighed. _'It's_ _now or never.' _She thought as she walked up to them. Akemi took her last step and smiled as the two males turned to her. One of them had very spiky hair and a bandage-like thing across his nose. He was standing there with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised, a slight frown adorning his quite handsome face. The other one looked gentler- kinder. He had a hat-like thing on and his hair was covering one part of his face. They were both dressed in blue and the standard jacket. They just stood there, not saying a word. As if they were assessing how much of a threat she was. Akemi didn't say anything as she was waiting for them to talk first. It seemed the most polite thing to do. Finally one of them cleared his throat.

"Hi, how can we help you?" The spiky-haired one asked as he put his hands in their pockets as he stared at her. Akemi smiled lightly. "I would like to become a resident of Konoha." She said as she held her hands behind her back. Her nerves were slowly disappearing and she felt a lot more comfortable already. A somewhat sigh of relief escaped her.

"Do you have a permit?" The spiky-haired one said as he crossed his arm over his chest. He was trying to look more intimidating, though the reason had escaped her. She was nine, what was there to intimidate? Akemi allowed the question in her mind to become visible on her face. "Permit?" She asked as she bit her lip. She had never heard about needing a permit to enter Konohagakure. It was unneeded in the other villages she went to. Akemi had no permit.

"Yes, a permit. If you do not have one we cannot allow you to enter the village without going trough the intelligence division." The hat-man said as he smiled gently. At least someone had some sense of kindness. Akemi shook her head. "I'm sorry... I don't have one... I didn't know." She bowed my head, keeping her slightly insecure gaze on the floor. "Where are your parents, little one?" The gentle man asked her as he crouched down to her level. He put his hand on the red-heads' shoulder.

"They're gone." She didn't feel like talking about her parents. It brought to many bad memories. The spiky-haired man sighed as he rubbed his face. "Look kid, I need to take you to intelligence. Rules are rules." He said as he took a step towards her, a frown adorning his face. She shook her head up and down. Akemi understood, she was just really nervous.

Akemi smiled up at the man. "It's fine. I understand. Please take me there." she said as she took a step forward. The men both seemed like they really didn't want to do this, but knew they had no choice. The emotions on their face conflicted. She understood, she really did. It was their duty and they had to follow the rules. "Izumo, you can stay. It's not that far." The spiky-haired man said to the other man who was apparently named Izumo.

Izumo frowned but didn't answer. He knew someone needed to stay. "Fine, but just... Don't let them go overboard, Kotetsu..." The spiky-haired man, Kotetsu, shook his head. "I cannot promise anything."

Thus he turned around and started walking in long strides. It took Akemi some effort to keep up, but after a few minutes it became natural. She fell into step beside Kotetsu and sighed. After another few minutes they arrived at a big, grey building. Kotetsu led her inside and didn't even stop at the front desk. He kept walking until they reached a large, black door and pushed it open.

"Yamanaka!" He shouted after pointing towards a chair. Akemi bit her lip but took it as a sign for her to sit down, and thus she did. It took only a half a minute or so for a large, blonde, long-haired man to appear with one eyebrow scrunched up. He was wearing long, black coat. "What's wrong, Kotetsu?" He said as he wiped his hand on a rag or such. Kotetsu pointed towards the little girl. "She didn't have a permit. You need to see if she's allowed in." He said as he took his seat in a chair against the walls.

The blonde sighed as he threw away the rag. "She's only- wait, how old are you, dear?" He asked Akemi as he crouched down in front of her. "I'm nine." I said, proud of the years I had already lived and slightly annoyed all the 'adults' felt the need to crouch down to her height. The years she had lived were not as many as the man's, but Akemi was glad to be alive after all she had been trough. He gave her a sad smile as he ruffled her hair. Akemi was around the same age as his beautiful daughter, only two years older. "I'm sorry, hun. But in order to make sure you aren't a threath to the village I have to look around in your mind a bit." He said. He stood up and waved Akemi over to a large metal table.

"Can you lay down on this?" He said as he looked into her eyes. She was always a short girl and with her being short she couldn't reach the table. The man- Yamanaka, chuckled as he put his hands under Akemi's armpits and lifted her up on the table. She laid down, still slightly annoyed but still very agreeable, taking a deep breath.

Yamanaka looked her in the eyes once more. "This won't hurt, it'll just be a bit uncomfortable." Akemi nodded her head as she closed her eyes. She faintly heard the man utter a jutsu as suddenly she felt a pressure in her mind. An intrusion, one that didn't belong there.

Yamanaka searched trough her memories, viewing ones where she was playing with Asa and Yoru in the rain in amegakure, eating dango with the suna-baachan at the elder woman's shop, laughing as she set the kumo-nin's hair on fire- on accident, she swore, running away from the kirigakure shinobi as she had once again sabotaged another one of their get togethers. The man couldn't help but laugh at the childish antics of the young girl. Yes, young she may be, but he found himself admiring her for the amount of the world she had seen. He, himself had never gone to that many places.

It was then that the man stumbled upon something very disturbing. He had just reached the part of six years of age and younger. A mind block, one which he could not get past. Someone exceedingly powerful had to have put it there. Then, Yamanaka got small flashes of things he had never wanted a child to see. Blood coating the once pure white walls crimson, screams filling the air, bodies laying around and worst of all, a konoha head-protecter laying there, mocking the shinobi. Yamanaka was disturbed, to say the least. This was bad, very bad. This meant-

He couldn't finish his thoughts as he was thrown out of the girl's mind, flying backwards. Kotetsu, having been keeping an eye upon the two, caught the blonde. He frowned, silently wondering what had occured.

"Kotetsu..." Yamanaka began sadly for he really didn't want to do this. "She has a block. I cannot get past it. I did, however, see things I cannot ignore. We need Ibiki." He said as he shook his head. He had not wanted the cute nine-years old to be handed to the cruelty Ibiki Morino was, but this was protocol. He had to follow it.

He sighed deeply as he looked at the now unconcious girl lying on his metal table.

It was in the following hour that Akemi was unconcious that she was transported from the nice, tranquil room into a cold, dark room. It took her some time to regain conciousness, but she was deeply shocked and disturbed by what awaited her in her wakening. A large man wearing the same coat Yamanaka had worn and who had scars framing his face was looking down on her.

"My name is Ibiki. Now, tell us why you have a mind block." He said as he looked her in the eyes quite threathening. A mind block? She had a mind block? Akemi didn't know. She shook her head wildly. "I don't know." she said as she looked at the things laying behind him. Akemi shuddered and her eyes widened with fear. She recognized them. Torture objects. Fear crashed down on her even harder.

In her head she was screaming. She couldn't believe it. Was this Konoha? The kind, loving village she had heard so very much about not only from others, but from her father? The village her father had adored, was it this cruel place? A place where they would torture young girls because she happened to have a mind block?

**_[a/n] Warning, torture scene. It's quite light, but if you cannot handle it skip it._**

The man took a knife from the table. "Don't lie!" He demanded in a loud voice. Akemi glared at him, an action fueled by the terror she felt, but she didn't speak. She remained as quiet as a mouse, the only sound you could hear were the sounds of their breathing. Ibiki stepped forward and she could feel his thumbnail jab deeply in her scalp. Slowly, tauntingly he drug the sharp knife over the pale skin of Akemi's left arm. His grip tightened, wrenching her face around, and she could feel the individual hairs being pulled free of the roots, one by one.

The chair was knocked from underneath her and Akemi was suspended by her hair for a split second before hitting the stone floor. The impact knocked the breath from her and she was sure it had broken some of her ribs as she gasped one quick, painful gulp of air before the knife was once again dug into the delicate skin of this time her right thigh.

Akemi could feel the screams ripping from her throat, feel the blinding pain wrack trough her bones and flesh. When it stopped, someone was straddling her body, holding her by her neck, the persons', Ibiki's, face inches from hers. She peered into the dimness and saw one heavy-lidded eye bearing down upon her.

"Tch, tch, tch, tch. Bad... girl..." Ibiki crooned softly, his breath burning her ear as he stroked her hair with the knife. "Let's do hurry this along. You see, I have more people to torture and they are far more interesting then a small, little girl such as yourself. Although I have to admit, you're a stubborn little wench." said Ibiki, sitting upright and pointing his knife at Akemi's neck. "I'm going to ask you again, where did you get the mind block? _Where?_"

"I don't know-I don't know-PLEASE!" Fingers had been winding through her hair again as she spoke and they forced her head around until her nose was pressed against the floor. The lunatic was going to rupture her spinal column, she was sure. Akemi gave a cry of pain as the fingers twisted tighter before they finally let go and the weight on top of her vanished.

Akemi could hear footsteps clack across the room, prowling from one side to the other. She rolled over to her stomach and tried to stand but it was no use. Long, hot fingers seized her wrist, twisting her arm behind her, forcing Akemi back to the floor. There was a snap and a shockingly intense pain shot down her arm starting from her shoulder. The little girl shrieked and kicked as her shoulder was forced further and further from it's socket. Then something sharp pierced her side and she willed herself to be still.

"What else did you get? Perhaps a mark somewhere?" Akemi could feel the man's saliva spray her face, mingling with her own tears. "Tell me the truth or, I swear, I will run you trough with this knife!"

"I didn't- I don't know what you're talking about- I don't," the red-head sobbed. "Please- I really don't!"

"You're lying to me, wench!" Ibiki whispered through clenched teeth. He had backed away again, and Akemi waited for the following torture he would certainly inflict on her. She didn't know what to do. Was this truly Konoha?

"This is what happens if you lie," he said, his voice silken. He flicked his wrist and it was as if she had been plunged into a bath of acid. She could hear myself screaming, could feel her able limbs failing, the torment prolonged, but, this time, only physical.

Akemi was faintly aware of a scream filling the air, and the torment stopping. Her tormentor being yelled at.

She could faintly see the gentle face of her mother. It was not real, she knew it was not real. It never could be. The frigid floor, slick beneath her cheek, was real. Her heavy, useless, aching arm was real. Her lungs' refusal to take in air was real. She blinked furiously, but the image would not clear. Eyes opened or closed, it was all she could see.

Akemi sensed a presence beside her. Something prodded her in the back and she reflexively jerked away. She could see an elder man wearing a white and red coat and the blond man from before standing behind him with a pain-filled face. Akemi's tormenter was being held down, kunai to his neck.

There was a shrill, disbelieving voice in the air above her. Then Akemi's jaws parted, her screams spending the last breath left in her lungs, before, finally, everything disintegrated into oblivion.

* * *

** It took me some time to write this, but I wanted Ibiki in it because he just had to be there and I wanted him there exactly like he was in the former chapter 3. This should be almost indentical to that one.**

**I have read a lot of fanfics where the person is accepted into Konoha just like that. It doesn't work that way, people. You have to stay realistic. Even a small child could have been a spy and Konoha is, despite being a kind village, very protective of their people. They will do ANYTHING to protect them.**

**I admit, submitting a small 9-years old to Ibiki is HARSH, but it was needed! It will be talked about again in the rest of the book.**

**I hope this update will satisfy you. I really hope it does.**

**Please comment, Vote and Follow me on twitter for more information about updates. My twittername is RollingNoodles. For questions you can go to my DiaryDreamSarah. My Instagram is Rollingnoodels and my snapchat is RollingNoodles. I also have a website, .com, but you can find it on my profile.**

**All the love, Sarah.**


	4. Yearning

It was not the loud yelling outside the door or the banging against the wall, but the soft beeping of the machine next to her that woke the red-headed little girl up. The gentle blowing of the wind through the trees outside of her window and the bright light shining down upon her face also helped. It took her some time to get to her senses. Akemi couldn't open her eyes, couldn't move her body and trying to move even something small and insignificant like a finger hurt immensely. Her arm throbbed and her back hurt. Where was she?

Slowly, but cruelly the memories of what happened came back to her. Akemi remembered getting at the gate, the intelligence department and the cruel man with the scars. She shivered. The move got her to gasp for breath so fiercely that she choked on air and was forced to arch her back which hurt even more. God, she was in so much pain. When was this going to stop?

Akemi didn't hear the beeping of the machine getting faster- dangerously fast. The sliding doors opened quickly and her bed was surrounded. She heard things in soft murmurs, which must have been shouts for them because she could barely hear a thing. A hand was pressed on her chest and she struggled against it. It hurt, they had to stop touching her. They shouldn't touch her, it only made it worse!

A scream ripped itself from Akemi's throat. She wanted them off of her. She was pain; they needed to stop touching her.

Finally someone seemed to understand. She heard a shout of somewhere along the lines of 'Don't touch her!' and all hands let go. The voice sounded male, but there was nothing else she could comprehend. Akemi calmed down slightly as soon as they let go, whipping her head around. She wanted to open her eyes, she wanted to see, she wanted out of here. And then she felt a slight pinch in her arm and everything went black once again.

Her dreams were filled with memories, filled with longing and loving, filled with desire and pain. It was only too soon that she woke up once again. This time there was no bright light, but a gentle soft glow. Akemi slowly pried open her eyes with huge difficulty and found herself looking at the beautiful full moon. Stars were surrounding it; there was not a cloud to be seen.

A sigh escaped her lips. She had always loved the moon- it had been symbolic to her clan. They lived off the moon, it gave them strength. It was during the full moon that they were at their strongest. The moon was their mother, the sun their father. No, the sun didn't give them any power of enhanced strength, but the sun was the moon's lover, their mother's lover, and thus the sun was their father. It was a subject not many knew about, but of course there had never been another clan so close to the gods as they were. Well, as they had been.

Akemi took a look around the room she was in. It was white and tranquil. She disliked it immensely. Akemi immediately knew she was in a hospital, but it wasn't anything strange after what happened. She just didn't expect being in a hospital. In all truth, she thought she had died. The dark was so very gentle, coaxing her towards the end but she didn't give in. She knew she could never give in. Akemi had a promise to live up to.

She took a deep breath and tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't let her. It was too weak and distaste immediately filled her heart. How could she be this weak? Akemi had never been this fragile before and it bothered her. She missed her companions and she missed walking around the nations without a worry. Konoha ruined this.

A strong dislike for the nation filled her heart. She had thought Konoha to be a gentle, kind nation. When did it turn into this cruel place? However much she didn't want to, Akemi quickly shoved the feeling of dislike down. No matter how much she disliked this place, she had made a promise. She had no choice.

After struggling for a while Akemi finally got herself to sit up straight. She took a hold of the needles in ber arm and ripped them out. A small groan escaped her as she threw them on the ground. Damn it, that hurt. She swung her small legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself off of it. The landing was clumsy and she stumbled. She gasped in pain trough her clenched teeth as she made sure to keep her sounds inside. It wouldn't do to alert someone, now would it?

In order to take her mind of the pain she quietly started humming a song her mother used to sing to her as she took a small step towards the window, wary of taking too big steps. Another groan was uttered as her foot was placed on the ground. Akemi kept her cursing in as she had already cursed way too much for her liking. She was never a cursing kind of girl. She gasped as she took another step. It just hurt so much. What had that man done to her?

After struggling for a little while more Akemi finally reached the window and pushed it open with one hand. The other was resting around her damaged waist. She looked up at the moon, love filling her heart. Akemi bowed slightly as she clasped her hands together. _"Mother, please take care of me." _she thought.

It was then that she heard something behind her move. It was soft, but she heard it. Akemi turned around quickly, which didn't turn out to be that great of an idea. She fell to her knees as a small pained scream escaped her lips into the world for all to hear. She scrunched her eyes closed and bit her lip. She could feel someone come up to her and pick her up, placing her fragile body back onto the hospital bed.

"You shouldn't be up." A deep voice, male. Akemi couldn't get herself to look at the person because her body hurt but she could feel him placing the IV back into her arm, the slight pinch making her wince once again and her annoyence at herself rise. Akemi shook her head "I know." It was the only thing she managed to get out as she laid back into the mattress and waited until the pain had lessened. The male had taken to sitting in a chair next to her bed quietly.

Akemi took a deep breath as the pain slowly ebbed away. They sat in a comfortable silence; not bothering to ask any questions both of them knew they wouldn't answer. Akemi took her time to take the man in.

He was very well built. Wide shoulders, lean body. His face was covered by a mask; only one eye of his was peaking trough the cloth. Grey hair was spiked up, defying gravity to the max. Akemi found it very amusing.

Then he breached a line. He spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice filled with cold. Akemi knew he wasn't interested. He was ordered to get as much information as possible, and thus she obliged him.

"Akemi." She answered in the same steely cold voice as he had. Surprise crossed his eyes for a second before disappearing immediately. She knew it was an answer that would most likely piss him off but she couldn't help it. She had never been someone who made things easier for others.

"Last name." He stated, not even bothering to ask. Akemi stared him right in the eye. "Ishiguro."

He shook his head and Akemi immediately knew why. There doesn't exist an Ishiguro clan, well, not according to them. They didn't know of said clan. No one knew, really.

He sighed as he stood up.

"You're making things awfully difficult for yourself." He said as he put his hands into his pockets and bowed forward. His one visible eye seemed to look into her very soul. She knew he wouldn't be able to find anything, but that didn't mean it didn't bother her.

Akemi's body started throbbing once again, and it was then that she knew that whoever healed her sucked at medical ninjutsu.

Medical ninjutsu was so tricky because it required the user to have an in-depth knowledge of the human body. You couldn't just form hand seals and let the jutsu do the rest. And the human body is a complex machine. There are thousands of different parts and thousands of different ways in which they can be damaged. A lot of study is simply rote memorisation of facts bit there were a lot of facts to be memorised. Asses to that was the difficulty of forming and holding Yin natured chakra. All in all, it was no wonder there was only one in a hundred shinobi that even_ tried_ to study medical ninjutsu- let alone became a master at it.

The man must have seen her flinch because he sighed and walked towards the door. He slid it open and turned around once more.

"Be sure to rest. We'll be back tomorrow." He said and somehow the tone he used when he said it didn't predict a lot of good. The man turned and left, shoving the door closed roughly.

Akemi took a little time to think back to her parents. She couldn't sleep yet and normally one of her familiars would help her sleep. Alas, they weren't here. She figured it took her merely minutes before she finally fell asleep once again, dreading the thing that was going to take place tomorrow.

She had not slept well. It might be more accurate to say that she had a nightmare, probably brought on by the nervousness and pain she felt. She woke silently, the gasp never leaving her lips, eyes flaring wide and darting about her hospital room. For a second, she thought there was someone standing in the corner. But no, there was no one there. Her chakra sense told her the only person in the room was herself.

The human brain was good at facial recognition. Too good sometimes, because it found faces in other things – shadows as a prime example. It was particularly common during hypnagogia, or waking sleep.

Funnily enough, that didn't really reassure her.

Akemi gathered chakra in her hands. If you get a great enough concentration, chakra could become visible. She called it up and held her hands out, reassuring her that there was no one there.

A knock resounded into the hospital room and the door was slid open. Akemi sat there, unsure of what to do. A man stepped through the door. He was followed by two people in masks, each of a different animal. He smiled at her, though she was pretty sure there was some animosity behind that smile. The old man looked kind, acted kind, but inside every person there's a dark side. Even inside this man.

The man walked towards the side of her bed and sat down in the chair beside it. He took off the ridiculous hat and folded his hands together in his lap. His eyes were stern – cold, whereas his face had a smile. His eyes betrayed his almost perfect image of the gentle old man.

"Hello, Akemi. My name is Hiruzen. I am the Hokage, leader of this village." The elder had held out his hand, ready for Akemi to take it. She just sat there, not moving. He slowly retracted his hand, a little twinkle in his eye. The twinkle was not one of kindness, Akemi figured.

Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Well, anyway," he ordered the two masked people to leave the room with nothing more but a nod of his head. "I'm very sorry about what happened. Rest assured, Ibiki has been punished." An awkward silence filled the room. The little girl had no desire to talk.

"The two guards, Kotetsu and Izumo, told me about you wishing to join the village. Now, of course, I cannot simply allow this. But as you have already been searched by Yamanaka-san there is nothing more I can do."

He stood up and folded his hands behind his back. He had an air of importance, of strength.

"I will allow it, but you'll have to do everything yourself. I will not give you funds nor will I allow you to stay in the orphanage seeing as you came here alone and you could pose a threat."

Akemi finally decided to ask the question that had been bothering me for a while already.

"Where will I be staying?" She asked quietly.

The man snorted as he looked at her once more. He looked at her as if she was trash and nothing more.

"Well, I think I heard Ichigan-san of the Ichigan inn and hot springs saying she needed a new servant. You'll do nicely, won't you?"

It was then, as the man turned and left, that the familiar feeling of dread filled her once again and she gulped.

She was truly scared.

* * *

**This chapter was really hard to write. I hope you understand and like it. If you don't, just comment. I will most likely react to you.**

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**I hope all of you won't hate me too much for making the hokage... mean, as it were. All will be explained some day.**

**All the love, Sarah Anna Riling**


	5. Gruesome

Reality dictates that for everything that is done, it must come at a cost; in economics this is known as the opportunity cost. The cost of partaking in one action means that another action did not take place; but for every action that comes to place, for every decision there comes a split in reality. As such, there is no one universe, but a multitude of universes where every decision that is possible comes to realization.

A few days had passed and Akemi was spending all her time in the hospital, recovering. There were not many doctors or nurses willing to get close to her. She figured in all the time she had spent there she had only met three different people. They never talked to her. They just refreshed her bandages, checked her vitals and left once again. Every now and then she would be brought food that was barely eatable, but it was always silent in the room she had been confined to. It was a lonely existence and her longing for company grew. She missed Yoru and Asa deeply.

Akemi felt truly miserable and once again her thoughts returned to her loving father. Was this the village he had loved so much? Because honestly; you couldn't call this a village. This was no more than a place for torture. A sick place those people called home. Akemi had wondered why she even came here, but she quickly shook that thought away. Perhaps she was meant to come here in order to change this village, perhaps she was not. Who could tell?

She couldn't exactly remember how many days she spent there. She was out most of the time. They probably drugged her for some reason, maybe they figured she would try to escape. A snort escaped her lips. Akemi had guessed that she had been there for about five days now, but she could never be sure.

At one point they had decided Akemi had healed enough in order to work. They sent her to the Hokage who in his own turn sent the small redhead to the Ichigan inn he had spoken off before. He had told her that she would have to work in order to be allowed to live in the village, even if she was scum to most- if not all other villagers. Akemi couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. How could you say that to a nine-year old? Akemi was lucky, extremely lucky even that she had matured early on, but another wouldn't be able to take his slants and comments without dropping multiple drops of salty water, the thing people called tears.

Akemi was surrounded by the men with masks as they escorted her to the inn. They probably did it so that she wouldn't run away, which she probably would have, for that matter. One of the men had his hand on her shoulder in a tight grip. His nails were digging in her skin. She could feel them tearing through the rags she had been ordered to wear, because apparently she was unworthy of proper clothing.

Akemi couldn't help but laugh at that comment. She, an Heiress- no, the Heiress of the prestige Ishiguro clan, unworthy of proper clothing. How amusing was that?

The man's claws tightened and the girl quickly regained her emotionless mask. It was a mask she had taught herself to wear a long time ago. She had spent some years in Sunagakure and had lived there with a nice old lady called Sayomi. Her husband had passed away a few years prior to Akemi's arrival. Sayomi earned what little money she had by carving beautiful dolls and furniture. Her stuff had been one of the most sought after pieces because of how beautiful they were and how few there were. They were rare and humans- no matter who, liked rare and expensive things.

After Akemi had arrived Sayomi had taught her the art. She had felt sorry for Akemi, a young child living on the streets, and had thus allowed her into her home graciously. She had fed the girl, clothed her and given her a roof above her head. However, the final year was when everything had gone wrong.

The year had begun with an unforeseeable heatstroke, one fiercer then those before, and the wood had become too dry. It made it impossibly hard for them to get the woods necessary for the carving and thus business had become terrible little and such they had become unable to pay for the medicine Sayomi so desperately needed. Akemi had taken on some odd jobs and every single ryo had gone to either food or medicine. Only the basics, really. She was aware of this even more then Sayomi herself had been; after all it had been her responsibility to look after her strict yet gentle 'grandmother'. The elderly woman had taught Akemi so incredibly much, from writing, calligraphy and properly counting to manners and tea ceremonies. Sayomi had been the one to give Akemi her second summoning contract, the lions. The lion contract had been in Sayomi's family for a long time and as she had no children to pass it to she had given Akemi, the one she saw as a granddaughter, the contract.

As a consequence of not being able to pay for the medicine, Sayomi had passed away only a couple of months later with only fifty seven years to her body and soul. Akemi had mourned her death bitterly. Sayomi had understood the girl better than her summoning companions ever could. Sayomi-obasan had been the one that noticed her bright and quick mind and had taught Akemi the second family secret. The art of card-throwing.

Card-throwing was an art no one had ever been able to truly master except for the Nagasaki family, Sayomi's family. It was an art truly misunderstood. There was so much you could do with those cards. You coat them in a poison of your own making, make them of iron and thus like knifes- there were just so many options. It was much like kunai throwing, just more delicate.

When the time of Sayomi's death came Akemi had been the only one sitting at her death bed; her so called 'friends' had been working in the stores like they had done on every other day. Even her best friend's death wasn't enough to make Murasaki leave her work unattended for one day.

Sayomi-obasan had used this chance to make the redhead promise to never let herself be talked into anything that she didn't want and to make something out of her life, no matter if it went against the wishes of those around her or not. Akemi had promised her that she would try, but the girl had told Sayomi she did not know if she could follow it seeing as she did not know the future. Akemi had done so while in tears and when Sayomi's 'friends' returned in the evening, Akemi had already put a white cloth over Sayomi's face and started to burn the homemade incense.

Sayomi had been buried in the field behind the village surrounded by her beloved dragon heat flowers. Flowers which only bloomed with extreme heat, like the heat that very year. She was buried amongst those bloomed flowers.

But with that the horrible year had not ended. To even out the money they had lost because of the heat Murasaki and the others had found extra work in the fields a little while from the village.

It was there that those same people had found their end. They had been working in the fields furthest from the farmhouse; all of the three people had worked alongside another two dozen farmers to bring in the last of the crops before the summer down pour began and destroyed them. The weather had been unnaturally hot and humid for days now without the slightest breeze and this had put more than one of the older villagers on edge. This particular weather was normally followed up by a destructive hailstorm and so everybody worked themselves into exhaustion to bring in the last of harvest in before the storm began.

The hailstorm that had been brewing for quite some time beforehand had surprised the three friends shortly before sundown and struck them dead. Their bodies had been found after the storm had passed by only a few meters away from the farmhouse where the other workers had found shelter.

It had not been long after the incident that Akemi had found out the hailstorm was caused by the little red-headed boy. The son of the Kazekage.

The girl had left the village after, not keen on staying there when those she had cared for had all left to the other side.

And thus she had made her way to where she was currently standing, Konoha. Akemi was standing in front of the inn shewas supposed to work at. Well, apparently it was an inn. The redhead was not stupid enough to think it was simply an inn, no. It was also a geisha house, an Okiya.

Not many geisha's still existed, but those few that were still there were highly sought after and respected. They had followed the old ways and still followed them no matter the pain it caused them both mentally and physically. In Akemi's eyes however they were simply prostitutes. **(A/N: For those few out there who still believe in the geisha practise and such, I do not mean to disrespect you. This is simply how Akemi thinks. I, myself, highly respect Geisha's!)**

Akemi sighed deeply as she kept her head low. She was an intelligent specimen and thus she knew she was a very pretty girl. Her amazing, fire red hair would most likely draw costumers to her like a fly to the flame, and her beautiful and sparkling caramel eyes would enchant them and draw them in, grabbing a hold of them so very tightly they would never want to let her go again. She also knew that if the Okaa-san saw her beauty she would use her for stuff other than household duties and cleaning duties and she would most likely train Akemi to be a geisha herself.

Akemi was pushed into a small room and immediately undressed. A few other young girls were surrounding her as one of them took the rags she was wearing and threw them in a bag. She was cleaned, her hair was combed and put up and she was dressed in a baby-blue yukata. She was told to sit properly with her back straight and face forward. The girls dressing and taking care of her said the Okaa-san would soon join her. Akemi did as ordered for she knew that if she did not she would only make things worse.

As she slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes she could hear the other girls gasp. Each and every one of those girls had very average looks and thus, as much as she disliked it, stood out. They were whispering amongst each other and didn't know how to get out of the room fast enough. Akemi could hear their whispered comments through the thin paper of the sliding doors.

"She's beautiful."

"Have you seen those eyes?"

"Oh my, that skin!"

A loud voice interrupted their conversation. The voice boomed and told them to stop lingering and get to work. She instantly knew that the voice belonged to the most powerful woman in the inn. The Okaa-san.

Fear chilled her blood and bones locked into place as it became impossible to move. Hands grabbed a hold of the sliding door and with a powerful pull it was opened. Harsh yet graceful steps were taken as someone took a seat before the stone girl. It was a woman, and a beautiful woman she was.

The woman smiled at her, though it was more of a mix between a smile and a grin or smirk. Akemi knew right then and there- this would not end well. Not for her.

* * *

**This is a slightly shorter chapter, but this is because most of the next happenings will fit better into next chapter.**

**I am such a cruel person, I admit. Akemi won't have it easy. I'm sure people are wondering where I'm going with this all, but all will be revealed in due time. I hope you have read and enjoyed this chapter.**

**Be sure to vote and comment. Definately comment! I would like to know who's reading my story but I won't know if you guys don't tell me!**

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**I love you all!**

**All the love, Sarah Anna Riling**


	6. Anguish

A few moments passed as the woman just kept on staring at Akemi. No sounds were heard except for the silent breathing. Akemi could hear the okaa-san's brains rattling from thinking of what she was going to do with the redhead. Her body wouldn't move, her bones were locked in place. She dreaded the moment this woman would begin to talk for it would not be good words she spoke. The girl saw the glint in the woman's eyes and saw her calculating the money that would roll in. A wicked smirk placed itself on her graceful face. Shiny pitch-black hair framed the heart-shaped face and milky white skin. Her lips were painted red with a balm Akemi was sure she had made of ripe berries, oil and crystallized sugar, as most traditional geisha make-up was.

Geisha still used the traditional make-up. Even though nowadays the brands and product itself had improved immensely, geisha still stuck to the old ways and used white powder mixed with oils to paint their faces white and charcoal pencils to draw their eyebrows black. There was, however, some change in the geisha community. They were now accompanied by female shinobi for it had become a much more dangerous place for the geisha. Many men had been trained in the ninja arts and thus it became impossibly hard for geisha to protect themselves for if a geisha had refused to lay with a shinob the shinobi would have been humiliated and thus they would have taken revenge by forcing the geisha still.

Not only was the community dangerous, it was also highly corrupt. As geisha were taught to pleasure not just shinobi but also powerful politicians many wanted to be of high standing for only the best of the best would be allowed to lay with the political powerful. A diplomat from another nation would be received as if he was a god because he was powerful and whoever would lay with him would be viewed as a high-ranked geisha.

Most geisha nowadays had been trained in the ninja arts as well. For example, the woman in front of Akemi had been too. She walked without a sound, a feature no one but a shinobi could hope to possess, was proud holder of a mask that even the little redhead in front of her had a hard time deciphering and sat with posture no geisha would have without strength training for all the accessories and such were simply too heavy.

The woman grabbed Akemi's face, taking a look at it and turning it like she was inspecting her. Which, Akemi was sure, she was probably doing. The okaa-san pushed her face away again and Akemi fell back a little. The woman that had pushed her was quick and pulled Akemi back up and onto her knees. "Never stumble, trip or fall out of place. We must always be perfect and precise." Akemi's eyes widened. It was then that she spoke the words she had not wanted to hear. The words Akemi highly disliked and would forever dislike. "It is one of the most important rules of a geisha."

Akemi had expected it. How could she possibly allow one with such exotic beauty as Akemi's to become a mere servant when she could earn so much money because of it? Akemi would never spend her time cleaning the house, Okiya, Tea house or Inn. This place was all three in one. She could predict the woman's thoughts. She would make Akemi unreachable. Would only grant her to those high enough in power, oh yes, how powerful the Okiya would become. She would only give Akemi one time and then she would become impossible to have. She would be of such high standing no one could dream to have her except for those Akemi chose.

The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing her tears to disappear. They followed her commands however hesitantly. Akemi opened her eyes once again and looked straight into the womans' eyes. "Yes, you will do." She said as she pulled a wicked smirk onto her face. "You will do just fine." Akemi sent the okaa-san a quiet message with just her eyes. Challenge accepted. "You start training tomorrow. Masaki and Asura will show you to your room." With that she took a last step and left the room followed by her two kunoichi guards.

Akemi slumped in her seat and sighed with a small shudder. Damn it.

As soon as she heard the sliding doors opening once again she sat up straight. This was not a place she could afford to show weakness. If she did, she would be stumped upon without them feeling any sort of guilt or such feelings.

Two girls came in. They were graceful and pretty but they could not match the gracefulness or beauty of the okaa-san. They each had their own special features. The girl on the left had, much like Akemi herself, a beauty spot on her chin. Akemi had hers just below her lip. The girl on the right had black hair which faded into white. Akemi liked it, for it was definitely something special.

The girls made their way over to Akemi and sat down barely making any sound. They looked at each other, probably to decide who was to talk. Neither wanted anything to do with the new girl, beautiful as she may be, sent here by the Hokage himself. They wondered what wrong Akemi could have committed to be sent to a place like this. And to be honest, Akemi herself wondered the same thing. She couldn't recall doing anything major or damaging. Perhaps she did something- said something while sleeping.

It took a few more minutes before the one with the ombré hair decided to speak in place of her companion, perhaps her younger sister. Apparently she was the braver one. In any case, she moved something from behind her to in between all three of them. It was a tray of sorts, made out of pure black wood. It was not seen often. An Okiya using black woods meant it was a very famous one. It was not a widely known fact, but the insiders knew, and so did Akemi.

"Pick it up." The girl said as she stood up herself. The girl next to her followed quickly. Akemi did as told and stood up as gracefully as she could. The girl's critical eyes followed Akemi and saw every fault and flaw she made. She frowned. "Not too shabby. Follow." She ordered. Akemi didn't like being ordered, but kept quiet wisely.

They made their way out towards the hallway. Their steps small and feminine to the eyes of the men currently occupying the rooms. Akemi could see the amusement in their eyes through the thin opening of the doors. A new arrival, a new prey. Loud, rumbling laughter could be heard. She had already decided that this was not only an Okiya for the commoners, but also for Shinobi. In fact, it was mostly occupied by Shinobi.

Shinobi lived lives filled with cruelty and roughness. Whenever they came here, they could get the gentleness and kindness they could not have gotten otherwise. That was what Geisha were for; they gave and fulfilled the men's fantasies they could not achieve in their realities. They created a life they desired, but could never posses.

Shinobi, people who were always on their guard, could come here to relax. Here they would not have to be on guard. Many geisha's were trained as kunoichi and should anything happen they were fierce fighters and could protect themselves should the need arrive. This is what the Shinobi craved.

Even for commoners, escaping from the stress and exhaustion of their normal lives was highly sought for. Most of the commoners that visited were married men.

Those men sought for comfort their wives could not offer, for they did not have the unblemished and soft skin. Those wives worked hard and roughened their skins. But not geisha. Geisha were to keep soft and perfect skins.

Akemi sighed softly; annoyed by the soft and small steps they were taking. She was a person who wanted to do things quickly, who wanted to walk quickly. She was not someone for gentleness, quietness and kindness. She was raised with three brothers, two older, one younger. The only feminine person in her life had been mother, as Sayomi hadn't been the epitome of feminity either, but not even she was as flawless as a geisha when around family. Only when in social places would she be the flawless wife she had to be.

Akemi was never meant to live the life of a geisha. The shielded, guarded life of an entertainer. That was not her. She was made for running around, getting dirty. For fighting and having rough skin. That was her.

They went all the way to the back of the Okiya. There were many closed rooms here. They were without a doubt for them, the trainees. The true geisha's always got the biggest room. The higher in standing you were, the more magnificent your chamber was.

The three girls made their way to the last room, the room at the very back. The girl with the freckle opened the sliding door, letter the girl with the black and white hair enter first. She entered and sat down on one of the cushions. "These are your chambers. You will reside here until you become a Maiko." She said as she pointed towards the low table in front of her. "Put the plate here." Akemi once again did as asked and sat down in front of her with as much gracefulness as she could gather.

Her critical eye looked Akemi over, body and face, deciding what to do next.

"Chikayoshi, go get them." The girl said. The freckled girl, Chikayoshi, quickly bowed her head. "Hai, Chikafuku-neesan." She quickly shuffled out of the room. Ah, she was a Maiko. Akemi was silently wondering who Chikafuku was talking about, but her wondering was quickly disturbed by Chikafuku talking.

"You lack elegance, but you seem to have some sort of grace at least. Though I cannot understand what Okaa-san saw in you. Your nails are not taken care of, your skin is dirty and you look like you hate the whole world. You will never get a _Danna_ if you act like such." She said as she poured herself a cup of tea. She raised it to her mouth and took some small sips.

Akemi shook my head. "No, Nee-san. I lack both grace and elegance. I was never taught to look after my nails. I was forced to come here. I hate it here. However, I have been given no choice. Much like many of you. However, I will not let you change my personality. I am who I am and I will not change that no matter the price." she said. Akemi could see the anger inside of Chikafuku build up and she was smirking inside. She knew that what she just did was not a smart thing to do, but she could not help herself. She was about to say something when de door opened.

The girl, Chikayoshi, entered the room followed by three servants. They were all carrying something and placed it on the ground in front of Chikafuku. She was still looking at Akemi, but now with a smirk.

"These girls will clean you. Then you will start training. Okaa-san wanted you to become a Maiko as soon as possible. You should be lucky it is not me who will be your onee-san for I would have punished you for your insolence already. However, it is not my place."

Akemi gulped as two of the girls moved behind her. She was kneeling and, to be honest, her feet were starting to hurt. The girls loosened Akemi's hair letting it flow to the ground, gathering in a bunch as it fell to her knees when standing. Oh god no. They were going to comb it.

Just as Akemi's thoughts finished she could feel the warm, wax-covered comb go through her hair. It pulled her face with and damn it, it hurt! Akemi tried to struggle, but it all futile and only made the pain worse. They just continued combing and pulling.

During the torture Akemi had to endure, Chikafuku started telling her about the etiquette the Geisha had to remember. "Never think you are better than the costumer. You are not. Don't provoke the shinobi and just do as they say. They should give you no trouble if you do. If anything is wrong, call the kunoichi and they will handle it and never are you to ask favours of the costumers. They are here for their pleasure, not yours."

Chikafuku made sure to laugh as a particularly painful knot was combed away.

"You will get your own personal kunoichi when you become a Maiko. They will be much like your onee-san. Your onee-san has already been chosen but you will be told when you become a Maiko. She will guide you well, I believe. You are two of the same."

Akemi glared at Chikafuku as she laughed once again at the pained look on the redhead's face.

It took a while for them to finish, but Akemi guessed they thought that she was now finally presentable now. They removed the little hair she had on her body, leg hair and whatever pubic hair she had first as that was most important. A geisha was not to have any hair on her body other then on her head and her eyebrows. The girls also showed Akemi the proper way to put on the training yukata.

It took a long while and lots of pain before the people taking part and enjoying her torture left and they left Akemi in her sleeping yukata. She quickly crawled into the futon and drew the bedding up to her chin.

It was then that all the pain she had endured the past few days decided to appear.

Akemi wept.

* * *

**Sarah here! I decided to end the chapter here seeing as I do not know what you want. Would you like me to write about the whole becoming a Maiko process or would you like me to do a little time skip? Be sure to comment/review so that I may know!**

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**


	7. Revolution

The time spent at the Okiya was hard and Akemi was worked to the bone. Her feet were aching and this was quite a feat to achieve seeing as she had been trained a shinobi. Her muscles were tortured and her skin roughened. She had to soak in rosewater three times a day just so that it would stay soft, simply because a man does not desire a woman with roughened skin. Akemi despised this place. She had no friends; all the girls looked at her with jealousy in their eyes and she, even as a small child, had always hated jealousy.

The person that bothered the redhead most was her so called 'trainer'. She was a middle-aged woman in charge of the new flesh to the shop. She did whatever necessary to whip a new arrival into place and didn't care about how much she hurt the new, young child. She found pleasure in taunting Akemi especially. She tugged her red hair harshly when she was dancing to 'see if she would be able to continue through distractions'. Akemi found it hilarious, because yes, she could do exactly that. She was a shinobi before she was a geisha after all.

Akemi had not gotten the chance to call Asami or Yoru to her yet because she had not once gotten the chance to be alone, and she couldn't let them know she was trained and had summons. She would be in more trouble then she was currently had any of the people in the village found out. Akemi wasn't stupid; the bright redhead knew she was an outsider here, a threat and humans hate threats. They would have found some way to bind her chakra, maybe even severly damage her coils and thus making her life even more miserable. Akemi was lucky she knew how to disguise her chakra, because she had a lot of it and if they found that out they would know something was wrong. She silently thanked Yoru for being so thoughtful, because without his lesson she wouldn't have survived until now. Thus Akemi now had a small seal carved into the back of her feet, nearly invisible, that stored most of her chakra. She was planning on finding another storage item soon, but this would have to do for now. It was getting quite full already but that would be obvious seeing as it drained at least half of her chakra every day.

Akemi threw her fan in the air as she counted the steps of the intricate dance she was currently practising. She took small ones, as expected, and spun around once before catching her fan from the air. Her head was held high, the yukata she was wearing waving around her. The music the elderly woman, Akisuki, was playing was quick and Akemi had to keep up or she would be denied dinner once again. She was a fast learner but even she had troubles with the speed they wanted her to learn things at. She had been here for not three months and they already expected her to become a Maiko by the end of this month, which was only eleven days away. She would be expected to eat, sleep, walk and dance in perfect stance and talk with perfect speech. No matter that she would have her onee-san teaching me those things, no; she had to learn it before.

A small sigh escaped her lips. "Stop complaining, wench!" Akisuki said as she threw another fan at the little girls' head. It hit her face but she continued dancing through the steps. Akemi's face was stoic. She had the greatest desire to throw the fan back at the elderly woman but also knew that would only cause unnecessary arguments and punishment.

As the end of the song came Akemi was on her knees and bowed behind, the back of her feet touching her back as she stretched herself as far as possible while crossing her wrists and keeping the fans open. It was almost like she was folded in two, back ways. Her form was graceful and Akemi was sure to be a desirable geisha when the time came. She looked older already, so they would most likely lie about her age. Whereas she was only ten – only just turned, they were sure to tell others she was at least thirteen, maybe fourteen even.

Because Akemi was never allowed to get out of the Okiya during the day without guards, she had found herself a way out for during the nights. Thanks to her fathers' training she was used to going by at most five hours of sleep and thus the freedom she would not get during the day, she would search during the nights. Tonight would be her first escape and shivers ran through her spine as Akemi thought about it. _'Tonight, tonight, tonight.'_ she kept repeating in her head as she stood up elegantly, bowing to Akisuki. She looked Akemi over critically before nodding stiffly.

"You are ready. I shall inform Ichigan-sama of your progress. You should be able to meet your Onee-san tomorrow." She said as she too stood up and bowed back, although reluctantly. She knew that, when Akemi finished her training with her onee-san, she would be of higher standing than her and that this was the last torture she could give the little girl. After this she wouldn't want to make an enemy out of Akemi, because she was far more important than the elderly woman. The mama-san of this Okiya had high hopes for Akemi and she had predicted the redhead would become of high demand.

Akemi bowed to Akisuki, as was expected of her seeing as she was technically still her sensei, and called out a loud and clear "Hai". Then Akisuki turned and left the room while shuffling, as Akemi looked around her scouting if there were any people around. There was no one. Akemi released herself from her stiff form and sat down on the ground while sighing deeply. Her head was placed in her hands as I massaged my temples.

Akemi leaned her back against the wall as she looked out of the window. A soft smile appeared on her lips as she looked at the quickly darkening sky, the first glimpse of the beautiful moon, happiness crawling over her body. Only a little while left. Akemi missed Suna, even the heat, and she missed Sayomi. The little girl was so incredibly lonely at this point.

Akemi moved her head away. No use crying over what she no longer had, though she did highly regret her choice of coming here. She couldn't understand why the village her father used to always talk about so lovingly was such a cruel place, she just really didn't understand it. Akemi's father used to talk about his friend, who was apparently an idiot in disguise, with who he skipped rocks on the river and how they became brothers of sorts. He used to tell me about his parents pressuring him into marriage but that his friend, whom he lovingly nicknamed baka because apparently the man was a walking contradiction and target for trouble, would hit him in the head and laugh. One minute he would be laughing his head off about something his father had no idea about and then he would be brooding about one thing or another. But despite everything Akemi's father had loved him and her father loved this village. So what was left of this place, of the love her father had talked about so very often?

She sighed as she looked at the sky once more, and Akemi's eyes widened as she realised it had already become dark. Had she been out for that long? The girl stood up quickly and made her way to her room. As she entered Akemi quickly changed out of her yukata and moved towards her futon. Carefully she moved it aside, revealing a carved out piece of floor. Akemi opened it and pulled out the package it hid. She had spent most of her free time creating clothes more fit for moving around. It was not much, some tights that came to a little over her knees made out of left over black fabric she had found and an old light blue yukata which she measured and made smaller to her size, cutting the bottom of it so that it reached her thighs, and some of her own sandals, strengthened so that it was fit for activity.

Akemi changed quickly before closing the hole she had made and moving her futon over it. She then crawled into her futon itself and waited until she heard Akisuki coming into her room to check on her and as soon as she left Akemi listened for other people close to her that were not asleep yet. She had gotten some advantages from bonding with felines and wolves, and could hear the breathing and heartbeats of those close to her. The guarding kunoichi were on the other side of the Okiya with mama-san and thus Akemi decided to make her move. She had managed to steal some kunai from the kunoichi and shinobi both guarding and visiting and put them in a holster made herself from some leftover leathers she had stolen from one of the geisha who wouldn't use it anyway.

Slowly and silently she slipped out of her room, making no sound. Akemi moved towards the backyard and slipped out between the two broken planks in the fence. She made her way through the shadows, looking and listening for people. She could hear civilians, plenty of them seeing as she was in the red light district still, but not a lot of shinobi which she found odd. Normally the amount of shinobi would easily outweigh the civilians. Frowning, Akemi ran through an alley quickly and left the district, now moving aside the walls surrounding Konoha. The red light district of Konoha was hidden between the village itself and the walls as the Hokage wouldn't want anyone to know that Konoha had something as disgraceful Okiya and other prostitute houses. Of course, everyone knew that it existed, but many people ignored it as they could not see it. As they say, out of sight out of mind.

After running for a good ten minutes Akemi reached a forest of sorts. She slowed down to a jog and eventually ended up just walking. The freedom she felt was exhilarating and Akemi smiled brightly; taking deep breaths as here the air was pure compared to the smoke filled air in the district. As she walked around, Akemi's hearing picked up sounds that should not be here at this time of the night. Curious, she followed her ears as they led her towards what sounded like crying.

As Akemi entered a clearing she could see a boy with his knees drawn to his chest and his head burrowed in said knees. He was crying softly almost as if he felt it was disgraceful and no one should hear him. As the little redhead looked him over she figured he must be a little younger than herself. Two years at most. He had raven black hair that had a soft blue glow in the moonlight. His clothing existed of soft black pants with a dark blue shirt, but it appeared to be pyjamas.

Akemi frowned, and somehow a mother instinct she never knew she had appeared. The girl was extremely mature for her age and thus she had always been able to grasp things sooner than others, including maternal stuff. Akemi softly made her way over to him, making sure to make sounds as the kunai lying next to him implied he was being trained as shinobi, and fell to her knees next to him. Softly, carefully, she whispered to him. "Are you alright?" He stifled his crying but moved his head upwards, looking at the intrusive prescence cautiously. His eyes widened at the sight of Akemi, and she couldn't help but smile gently. "Oh, dear, come." She held open her arms invitingly, knowing he would accept the comfort she had offered. He needed it so desperately after all.

The boy's admittingly handsome face was painted with tears and the pain he currently felt. He turned before launching himself in Akemi's arms and grabbing hold of her clothes tightly. The little girl folded her arms around him as she rocked him from side to side gently. She put her chin on his head and shushed him kindly.

A song burst from her lips. Akemi remembered her mother would sing it to her whenever she was sad or hurt and she hoped it would help the soul of this child as well as it did hers.

_'Lay down your head, and I'll sing you a lullaby _  
_Back to the years of loo-li, lai-ley _  
_And I'll sing you to sleep, and I'll sing you tomorrow _  
_Bless you with love for the road that you go_  
_May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune _  
_With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet _  
_And may you need never to banish misfortune _  
_May you find kindness in all that you meet_  
_May there always be angels to watch over you _  
_To guard you each step of the way _  
_To guard you and keep you safe from all harm _  
_Loo-li, loo-li, lai-ley_

Akemi's breathing and singing were two of the few things heard in the clearing. The boy's crying was calming down steadily.

_May you bring love and may you bring happiness _  
_Be loved in return to the end your days _  
_Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you _  
_I'll just sit for awhile and sing _  
_Loo-li, lai-ley_

_May there always be angels to watch over you _  
_To guard you each step of the way _  
_To guard you and keep you safe from all harm _  
_Loo-li, loo-li, lai-ley _  
_Loo-li, loo-li, lai-ley.'_

Akemi's voice carried through the field as the boy slowly calmed himself. His breathed slowed down and his shaking lessened. He loosened his hold on her as she ended the song and stroked his hair gently. The boy extracted himself from the girl and she left him as he sat himself in front of her. He looked her over once again before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Who are you?" his hesitant voice asked as he bit his lip. Akemi smiled once again. "My name is Akemi. What is yours?" The boy blushed slightly. "... Sasuke."

Akemi nodded her head and gave a small chuckle. "Well, Sasuke, what are you doing out here so late?" she asked, moving a little closer to him and grabbing hold of his left hand. She gently caressed the told of his hand with her thumb as she waited for his answer. He seemed hesitant and unsure of what to say. Eventually though he seemed to have gotten enough courage.

"I was sad. I didn't want to be alone anymore." Akemi nodded her head once again as she waited for him to continue. "I'm all alone in that big place and I didn't want to be there anymore, so I came out."

"Well, what you did is very dangerous. There are many bad people this time of the night. You should really go home. I can take you there if you want?" Sasuke seemed even more hesitant at that, but Akemi could feel the relief radiating off him as she told him she would accompany him. He nodded his head as he stood, dragging the redhead with him by their still connected hands.

Akemi had thought of him as a normal boy, whose parents were on a mission perhaps. Boy, was she in for a surprise.

* * *

**Hello reader,**

**Yes, Sasuke is OOC but that is only for now. Eventually he will fall into the emo role we know him as. But place yourself in his shoes, Sasuke is still an 8-year old who has nobody and suddenly he gets some support, some love. Of course he would grab a hold of it.**

**I hate the Hokage for placing Akemi in the okiya. In fact, I never expected things to go this way but my story has it's own life and I only follow the direction it gives me.**

**I hope you enjoyed it. It is slightly shorter but that will be rectified eventually. Points to those who know the song! It's Aragorn's sleepsong.**

**Instagram - Rollingnoodels, Snapchat &amp; Twitter - Rollingnoodles, - DiaryDreamSarah, Blog - wordpress dreamsthroughdarkness  
**

**With tons of love, Sarah Anna Riling**


	8. Anticipation

They walked in a comfortable silence, his smaller hand held in her bigger, soft and warm one. Sasuke dared to take small yet questioning looks at the older female taking him to his compound- the place he didn't really want to return to. It was slightly hilarious to him, he was now clan head. Clan head at the age of eight, an age at which he should still be playing with his friends and going to the academy. His fists clenched- This was all Itachi's fault.

Akemi could feel the little boys' increasing anger- her senses were on alert, an immediate response to his chakra flaring slightly, his body responding to his feelings. She caressed the hand held in hers softly, comfortingly, and hummed the song she had sang to him before. Sasuke's tension lessened slowly but not nearly enough to keep him from thinking about his br- no, that traitor. A small frown came upon Akemi's face.

Each step they took brought them closer to his home and Sasuke was very much aware of it. Slowly the large gate came in view and he stopped in his tracks. Akemi startles slightly as she saw the large red and white fan displayed at the top of the gate. Uchiha.

She turned to the boy currently looking down at the floor, his face scrunched up. She crouched down (because despite being only a few years older, she was much taller than him) and grasped his shoulders. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle so as to not startle or scare the young boy.

Sasuke looked up to the girls' face. She was quite pretty, he found, the red hair elegantly framing her face. It was a unique colour - one he had never seen before. The thing that drew him in however were not her hair or her face, it was her eyes. Stunning golden orbes looked at him filled with concern. He stuttered slightly before taking a deep breath and calming down slightly, his mind now torn away from his previous thoughts as it was currently being filled with thoughts of her alone.

He bit his lip, _a very un-Uchiha like thing to do_, he mused, and sighed. "I don't want to go there." his reluctant reply came and bore into her heart. She had heard of the Uchiha clan in passing conversations at the Okiya, what could possibly be so bad about it that he didn't want to go home? Didn't he want to see his parents?

She sighed, stood and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I'll come with you." she said, starting to walk to the gate. Sasuke took slow steps, trying to stop their approaching feet, but didn't manage to achieve said goal. Akemi was way too stubborn. His weight was no match for her strenght.

Arriving at the gate brought him a horrible feeling. He felt sad, his heart hurt, but most of all he felt longing. He longed for everything to be the way it used to be. To be greeted when he returned from the academy, to be smiled at by his clansmen as he passed stores, training fields and the most frequented café. He longed to be teased for being the youngest son of the clan head and he longed for his strict father to scold him gently for getting another seal wrong- probably Ushi as he always did have problems with it.

Most of all- he longed for his mother's smile as he returned home, her loving hands caressing his once again bruised face. Her delicate hands- though trained, she had long since left the kunoichi life behind her- healing his cuts. His precious older brother entering the room, staring at his family as he sat down in his seat. His father clearing his throat as he looked at the three of them, a slight, barely there smile appearing on his aged, stress-defined face as he took in the image of his family with pride filling his eyes.

God- how he longed.

Akemi looked down at the boy at her side. He was staring at the gate with a frown on his forehead, emotions rushing through his eyes. She was slightly stunned and momentarily distracted but got a hold of herself relatively quickly. She squeezed the raven head's shoulder and softly pulled him forward, guiding him towards the compound. The gate was closed, everything silent.

A weird feeling crossed Akemi's heart and she realised something was wrong relatively quickly. No home was supposed to be this silent. She couldn't hear anything coming from inside of the huge walls; not even breathing. Her hearing was great and if there was any sign of human life there she would have picked up on it. So why wasn't there?

She looked back down at Sasuke with questions in her eyes and at her lips. She was almost frightened to ask them to the younger boy- afraid that if she did he would retreat from her. Not just physically, but also emotionally and mentally. So she didn't. She left her questions unanswered.

Akemi let go of Sasuke and braced her hands against the gate's doors. They were closed to everyone and Akemi sighed. She pushed softly and slowly the doors caved, allowing her to see more and more of the abandoned compound.

The lights were off. It was silent and the faint smell of blood could be found floating in the air if one had a strong enough sense of smell and was concentrated. Akemi knew that for the smell to be this thick still there would have had to been a massive amount of blood spilled.

Akemi shook her head, dragging her away from her thoughts. It wouldn't do to dwell on it- not yet. She slid her arm down and grasped Sasuke's hand in her own once again as tight as she could. She tugged on said hand and waited for a response- she didn't get it. Sasuke seemed frozen, memories flicking across his eyes.

Horror filled Akemi's heart, she has suspicions of what happened here. She knew that look- the one currently occupying Sasuke's pure, innocent face. The hatred filling his eyes. They were looks, emotions she herself had worn for so many years. Emotions she had felt for the longest time, until she realised the reason.

Without thinking, without considering everything else Akemi swiped her thumb to her lips and bit it. She took her hand back and quickly, with speed only possible for one familiar with the movements, pushed her hands into the seals needed to perform the desired jutsu.

As her thumb hit the ground, smoke filled the air and two imposing figures appeared.

"Akemi-sama!" Two male voices said, jumping on their charge. They hugged her tightly, fussing over her wellbeing and checking her body for any scratches, scars and other things that might mark their beloved princess.

"Stop." Akemi said, her voice cold and serious. "We do not have time for this. Asa, Yoru, meet Sasuke." She said, gesturing towards the little boy that stood frozen on the spot Akemi let go of him. He was shaking, his legs unstable. The eyes of the two men sharpened as they looked at the ravenhead. He was pale, too pale.

Asa quickly moved forward and gathered the boy in his arms. His normal, playful exterior moved to make place for the serious and comforting Asa, one that- although he didn't use often- was relatively frightening to his enemies. He turned into a mother hen at those moments. Asa looked at his princess and sighed, shaking his head. He should've known.

Akemi looked at Yoru as the older man frowned in concentration. His head swung all ways as he registered what had happened in the Uchiha compound. She knew that frown however and that frown was never a good frown.

Yoru sighed, the nostalgia taking over. He turned towards Akemi and shook his head softly- it was empty.

It was then that Akemi's suspicions were confirmed.

The Uchiha clan was no more.

Akemi looked at Sasuke, the boy now being held by the comforting Asa. He was shaking and unresponsive.

_'Well, that went downhill rather quickly.' _she thought.

* * *

**Hello, dearest readers.**

**It's a shorter chapter, but I felt that I was keeping y'all waiting for too long and thus here is a small chapter. It gets a bit messy at the end, but I'll fix that later.**

**I'm sorry to keep you waiting...**

**All the love,**

**Sarah Anna Riling.**


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